The fifteenth edition of the Qatar International Falconry and Hunting Festival (Marmi 2024), concluded on 26 January 2024 with the coronation ceremony of the winners of Al Mazayn Falcon Championship at the Qatari Society of Al Gannas at Katara Cultural Village.
The ceremony was attended by HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, Patron of the Festival, and a number of ministers, diplomats and senior officials as well as the Board of Directors of Qatari Society of Al Gannas and a number of falconers from Qatar and the GCC, and other guests.
HE Sheikh Joaan crowned the winners of Al Mazayn Championship, which, this year, included competitions between contestants in the categories of Al Wahsh Al Hur (White and Blond) and Al Wahsh Al Hur (Black and Adam).
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Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Thani won first place in the category of Al Wahsh Al Hur (White and Blond) with a prize of QAR700,000, and also won second place with a prize of QAR500,000, followed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Thani in third place with a prize of QAR200,000.
In the category of Al Wahsh Al Hur (Black and Adam), Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Thani won first place with a prize of QAR400,000, and in second place is Hamad Ali Al Mehshadi with a prize of QAR300,000 while in the third place is Saad Issa Al Kaabi with a prize of QAR200,000.
On 25 January 2024, HE Sheikh Joaan crowned the various winners of the many championships that took place during Sabkha Marmi in Sealine, which included the final (Hadad Challenge), various categories (Garnas Al Hur, Farkh Al Hur, Garnas Shaheen, Jeer Hur, Jeer Shaheen), and international invitation for the categories (Al Hur, Shaheen, Woshut Al Nakhba, Al Talea, Saluki, the little falconer and the promising falconer.
Abdullah bin Hamad Al -Mehshadi, Chairman of Al Mazayn Committee at Marmi Festival 2024, said that the level of competitions in this year’s Al Mazayn Championship was strong due to the convergence of the level of aesthetic specifications between falcons, as no falcon monopolises all aesthetic specifications. In the first ten selected by the jury, each has a special beauty, while praising the strong and difficult task for the jury in this year’s advanced falcons.
Al Mehshadi explained that the judging criteria in Al Mazayn Championship are due to a set of factors, which is first related to the head and represents 15%, in which the consistency of the size of the head with his body and the cranium, which is the part that is located above the eye. The more it is dominated by the characteristic of thickness and prominence, the greater the beauty of the falcon, as well as the area of the dabba, which is the part that represents the falcon’s beak, and the more the dabba is thick and wide, and consistent with the size of the head, the greater the beauty. In regard to the nostrils, the wider the nostril openings, the more the characteristics of the falcon’s beauty. In regards to the eye, the clearer the area of the eyes, the more beautiful it is.
He explained that one of the elements of aesthetics arbitration is the sacrifice area, which represents 15% and is related to the aesthetics of feed, which is the length of the neck as well as the width of the chest, the large mankab and thanda, which means the width of the chest area and its protrusion to the outside. He pointed out that the back part represents 15%, and the consistency of the other parts of the falcon in general: the width of the back area, the lightness of the falcon’s feathers and their colour. The greater the whiteness of the colour of the limbs of the feathers, the more beautiful it is, as well as the small width of the falcon’s feathers and the small feathers in the back area, in addition to the consistency and flow of the tips of the falcon’s wing with its body.
He added that the other factor in the aesthetics of falcons is related to colour and represents 40%. The more white colour prevails on the falcon’s head, the more beautiful it is considered. The more white colour prevails on the chest of the falcon as well as the tips of the falcon’s feathers, and the more the falcon’s back is devoid of knocking, freckles or points, the greater the purity of the feathers. Stressing that this matter concerns a free falcon.
He pointed out that the presence of the palm is also one of the elements that enhance the aesthetics of falcons and represents 10%.
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